Caterham Roadsport 140 Tyre Review Highlights

Writing about the Falken ZE914 given 83% (185-60-14-H)
Driving on a combination of roads for 5000 average miles

I wanted a good tyre for touring use away from motorways. Absolute grip in the dry had to be compromised by excellent grip in the wet, especially on a rear-wheel drive car without ABS, traction control and all the rest of the systems that take control away from the driver. The Falkens have proved a good choice. Whilst much of the driving might be considered as "average" style, there is some that it "spirited". At this level the Falkens feel progressive on the back - which means more control for the driver over corners: braking, turn-in, and acceleration. I might try another tyre for comparison, but not because I'm dissatisfied with the Falkens. The Falkens have proved to be better than the previously fitted Avon ZX3s.

tyre reviewed on 2014-07-31 09:21:41

Writing about the Avon ZV3 given 70% (195-50-15-V)
Driving on mostly country roads for 7000 spirited miles

A new set of these tyres were on my Caterham when I bought the car and despite hearing negative reviews from other Caterham drivers they have performed well as road tyres. The dry grip is good, not outstanding but certainly good enough for some very spirited road use.

I have used my car in the wet rather more than the majority of Caterham drivers do and I have never had a problem with the tyres. There is obviously considerably less grip offered by a performance orientated road tyre and you do slip and slide a bit, particularly under power. The loss of traction has never been sharp or unprogressive though and the feedback is there to let you know what is happening. I have never had any trouble with standing water either.

Tyre wear has been no more than average for this type of tyre and 1 year in and 7k miles on I need another pair.

One thing I would recommend with any tyre is keeping track of the pressures and making sure they are optimum. I run the Caterham tyres at around 17psi and attribute the relatively good wet road handling to this. I suspect many Caterham drivers who complain about the wet performance of ZV3's are running them at higher pressures.

I would buy these again to run through the winter and maybe get some more agressive summer tyres such as Toyo R888s.